Unboxing [JP]: PaRappa the Rapper Remastered (PS4)

I GOTTA BELIEVE!

The 20th anniversary remaster of the well loved rhythm game is back with a PlayStation 4 release. Here's the Japanese physical release version, available for a really surprising budget price tag.

PaRappa the Rapper (パラッパラッパー) is a music rhythm game developed by NanaOn-Sha and published by Sony exclusively for the PlayStation. The series first started on the original PlayStation in December 1996 before finally hitting the west in Autumn 1997. PaRappa is also considered to be one of the first modern rhythm games developed. The game eventually spawned a few followings; a sequel on PS2, few spin-offs on PS1, an anime series, and even a port to the PSP. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the franchise, the games was remastered for the PlayStation 4 with 4K resolution and remastered graphics.

Format: PlayStation 4

Version: Japan

Exclusive: Yes

Local Players: 1

Online Players: 0

Resolution: 720p/1080i/1080p/4K (PS4 Pro)

HDD Space: 1GB

Trophies: Yes

The interesting thing about PaRappa the Rapper is how import friendly it is. The gameplay is the obvious point, since you're essentially pressing the buttons displayed on the screen like any other rhythm game out there. What I'm referring to is actually the music, because it has always been sung in English which is not common for a Japanese game. There is an Asian English release but the sole difference between the two is just the cover art on the retail case.

The game actually plays in English (presumably if your country is set to an English zone, similar to Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition) and there's an option to switch between English and Japanese text. Pick whatever retail version you choose, but I simply went for the Japanese version because I like the case spines. The entire game is single player only and plays pretty much the exact same as the original PlayStation release, and the PlayStation Portable port I believe.

PaRappa the Rapper is available on the PlayStation 4 for a very cheap price in Japan and Asian territories. I picked up my copy over on Solaris Japan since they had a pretty solid price for the Japanese release.